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During Delta Faucet’s journey to become a lean manufacturing organization, it solicited the services of the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Partnership (TMEP)—a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) network affiliate—for lean training. Previously, the company had been operating under a self-directed team structure, but became very limited in its pursuit of becoming the leader in the faucet industry. TMEP’s assistance included International Organization for Standardization (ISO) system training, coaching, and project management by the University of Tennessee-Center for Industrial Services (UT-CIS).

TMEP’s assistance included Lean 101 training, Training Within Industry (TWI), and A3 problem solving by UT-CIS. During the later stages of this training, Delta Corporation began moving all of its North American manufacturing to Jackson, Tenn. Lean and TWI training is now required for all new supervisors and employees, and TMEP continues to be the source for this training. With TMEP’s assistance, Delta has realized $317,000 in savings and created 129 jobs.